CINCINNATI, OH & MEMPHIS, TN: Two major midwestern airports are making sure they have a good means of communicating with the public quickly should the need arise. To that end, two classic Information Radio signals are being modernized at Cincinnati’s (CVG) and Memphis’ (MEM) commercial airports this summer.

A Delta B767-300ER approaches CVG.

CVG’s signal was one of the first on the air in the US, following on the heels of the installation at LAX in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Notably, its call sign is one of the oldest in continuous use (WZM835), harkening back to the days when TIS call signs had only three letters. MEM’s station was instituted in the 1980s and included three synchronized antennas – a first for a US airport. Its new build will feature a single antenna at a central location and a HQ5.1 Audio Processor to enhance listenable range.

HARVEY CEDARS, NJ: Hurricane Sandy visited this island borough with a vengeance in 2012. Now, as another storm season settles in on the Eastern Seaboard, little Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, believes it is even better prepared for the onslaught than it was four years ago.

Harvey Cedars replenishes beaches and dunes after Sandy.

FEMA tells area emergency managers that because they are situated in a “special flood hazard area” residents can expect a greater than one-in-four chance of a major flood event every 30 years. The Harvey Cedars Borough website advises locals, “We are especially vulnerable to the destructive effects of rising flood waters,” owing to the fact that the island is a mere ¼-mile-wide strip of land bounded east and west by nothing but water.

Long Beach Island is only 1200 feet wide in places at Harvey Cedars, NJ.

Police spokesman Tom Preiser has both fixed and portable Information Radio Stations at his disposal to keep the public informed. The fixed station on AM 1650 covers the entire borough 24/7 while the trailer-mounted portable on AM 1610 will be utilized near the bridge during evacuations and during the resident reentry that follows a big storm. Both have the capability of broadcasting National Weather Service warnings automatically. “We have message boards [changeable message signs] that will direct drivers to tune in the signals,” states Preiser. The radio stations have recently been upgraded to allow them to accept message files to improve the quality of the broadcasts and for the convenience that files afford the operator.

The portable radio station will also be utilized for traffic information during the annual 5-mile “Dog Day Road Race” that is guaranteed to snarl traffic on August 16th when the Borough will have to shut down the “the road” for a time. Anything that affects North Long Beach Boulevard [the road] is going to snarl residents’ ire as well as traffic, since it is the one and only way in and out of Harvey Cedars.

Other Emergency Advisory Radio Stations in New Jersey include . . .

Avalon Borough -
1630 kHz

Bernards Township - 1620 kHz

Bernardsville
Borough - 1640 kHz

Brigantine Beach - 1640 kHz

Burlington County - 1620, 1650 & 1700 kHz

Cinnaminson Township - 1620 kHz

Clark Township - 1700 kHz

Clifton - 1630 kHz

Cranford Township - 680 kHz

Edison Township - 1620 kHz

Fort Lee Borough - 1630 kHz

Gladstone & Peapack Boroughs - 1610 kHz

Hillsborough Township - 1610 kHz

Hudson County - 1710 kHz

Long Branch - 1620 kHz

Lyndhurst Township -
1700 kHz

Madison Borough -
1630 kHz

Manasquan Borough - 1620
kHz

Mantoloking - 1670 kHz

Manville Borough - 1700 kHz

McGuire Air Force Base at Lakehurst & Wrightstown - 1650 kHz

Metuchen Borough - 1580 kHz

Middlesex Borough - 1640 kHz

Middletown - 1620 kHz

Millville - 530 kHz

Monmouth Beach
- 1640 kHz

New Providence Borough - 1620 kHz

North Arlington Borough - 1620 kHz

North Plainfield
Borough
- 1630 kHz

North
Wildwood - 1640 kHz

Nutley Township - 1690 kHz

Ocean City - 1620 kHz

Oceanport Borough - 1610 kHz

Oradell Borough - 1690 kHz

Pequannock Township - 1620 kHz

Point Pleasant Beach - 1630 kHz

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey at Newark - 1630 & 1700 kHz

Rahway - 550 kHz

Red Bank Borough
- 1700 kHz

Roselle Borough
- 1640 kHz

Rumson Borough -
1630 kHz

Scotch Plains
Township - 530 kHz

Spring Lake
Borough - 1640 kHz

South Brunswick
- 1640 kHz

Stone Harbor -
1670 kHz

Tuckerton
Borough - TBA kHz

Union Beach
Borough - 1610 kHz

Union Township -
1620 kHz

Vineland - 1630
kHz

Watchung Borough
- 1610 kHz

Wayne Township -
1690 kHz

Westfield - 1690
kHz

Wharton Borough
- 1620 kHz

New Codes Are Coming

National Weather Service Asks for More Hazard Notifications

WASHINGTON, DC: High wind and storm warnings that occur in association with Category 3 and higher hurricanes are likely to be added to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) soon. At the National Weather Service’s behest, the FCC is considering issuing a Report & Order, adding three new event codes “Extreme Wind Warning,” “Storm Surge Watch” and “Storm Surge Warning” to the cadre of 57 existing ones.

The Service can trigger activation of special weather receivers using the codes that correlate to severe weather events and other “All-Hazard” threats. Information Radio Stations such as ALERT AM can be programmed to use the receiver activations to trigger live broadcast of hazard warnings.

Information Radio Stations that have NOAA Weather Radio Receivers will want to upgrade their receivers prior to the 2017 hurricane season to recognize the three new codes. Contact the manufacturer of your radio station to learn the recommended procedure to effect the upgrade.

AAIRO Comments on FCC's AM Revitalization Efforts

ZEELAND, MI: The American Association of Information Radio Operators (AAIRO) in March filed comments with the FCC on their recent Notice of Inquiry regarding the Commission’s desire to “revitalize” the AM band.

Specifically, the Notice asked 'Whether opening the expanded band (1610-1700 kHz) to further development would be beneficial to the revitalization of the AM Radio Service.' You may read AAIRO’s comments here.

In response, AAIRO posed the question 'How could adding more broadcast stations to an already crowded AM band attract listeners?' and suggested instead that only content exclusive to the AM band could do that. AAIRO cited the TIS service and its capability to broadcast special – and sometimes emergency – information on AM as an example of such content.